Experiences from a Kannadiga's kitchen, twists on traditional eats, delectable accidents and more

Avial - Majjige Huli

All cultures celebrate a vegetable medley dish. For some reason we all adore our mixed vegetable dish. They are just so festive and awesome. We Kannadigas we have Huli where all kind of vegetables find a place. The Gujarati's have Undiyo, then the Bengalis have Shukto, the French have their Ratatouille and of course the Malayalis have Aviyal.
Aviyal is a wonderful combination of vegetables in a coconut and yogurt gravy, much like our own Majjige Huli. The actual version calls for the vegetables to swim in the gravy but I did rather have just enough gravy that we could finish the dish in day. We do not appreciate the gravy sans the veggies.
Just about any vegetable can go in there. But my favorite combination is green beans, carrots, ivy gourd, Zucchini and plantain. I would love the snake gourd, raw mangoes (those that are not so tart).
So here is how it goes. This is typically not the way to make Aviyal. The purists will cringe at my handling, But this is more or less how we make Avial's cousin Majjige Huli. I love the idea of mixed vegetables in a Majjige huli like gravy. So here it is.

Combine the vegetables in a wide mouth pan and about 1/2 a cup of water. Cove and cook the vegetables till they are slightly tender but still crunchy, about 10-15 minutes on medium low heat. Set it aside.

Combine the coconut, green chillies, Jeera, coriander, turmeric and 1/4 cup water in a blender and grind till smooth.

Place the ground mixture in a thick bottom pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add more water if mixture is very thick.

Transfer the coconut mixture to the vegetables.

Prepare the oggarane. Heat the coconut oil. Throw in the mustard seeds and hing. Once they crackle throw in the curry leaves. Remove from heat and pour over the vegetables.

Stir in the yogurt simmer the mixture for a few more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with hot rice.